Updated 9:15 pm, Friday, February 26, 2016

Cousin said it's not so much for him, but to show the underclassmen what it's like to play for something bigger than yourself.

"We have a tradition here at Siena, a tradition of winning. We want to show the young guys what it is to play for a championship," Cousin said.

Right now, it could be a challenge for some of the underclassmen to visualize a championship game, let alone a ring, after two tough losses in the Cobb County Classic in Georgia. The Saints lost to Hobart (12-9) and Mercer (12-11) earlier this week; those losses, combined with a season-opening 18-5 defeat at Syracuse, has the Saints' record at 0-3.

However, given the guidance of senior captains Matt Bellucci, Tommy Cordts and Cousin, there's not likely to be any carryover Saturday in the home opener against UMass Lowell.

Cousin said he sees great potential in the team if it sticks to Siena lacrosse: "Play fast, fight each battle and finish."

"Well, it's been difficult, you play to win," he said. "There aren't any moral victories, but what we do is try to take away from each of these games mistakes we need to correct, but also those things that we have accomplished."

One thing Svec said his team understands is perseverance.

"We talk a lot about fighting through everything coming our way. ... We talk about rolling through the punches," Svec said.

Siena breaks the game up into five-minute increments, and it's common to hear the team saying things like, "next five" and "that five's gone, let's go!"

In practices, the Saints do a lot of five-minute games.

"We're grinders," Cousin said. "I think people expect us to have a down year, but we have a lot of unknown talent that will turn to winning games."

Cousin is primarily talking about the nine freshmen and 12 sophomores.

Keenan Cook, a freshman from Courtice, Ontario, is already among the team's top scorers with four goals.

Svec sees his young team well on its way to playing with the speed and determination the program demands.

Once the Saints improve their closing out of games, they'll compete with anybody, he says.

"Although we lost two heartbreakers, it's not panic time yet," Cordts said. "We know what we have to do to win games now."